The Real Story Of Columbus And The Great Circus Train Wreck

The countrywide rail downturn peaked in mid 1894, when 25% of railroads were in receivership and $25 million of railroad capital was damaged. One of many depression victims, Georgia Midland and Gulf, went bankrupt in 1894. Company receivership lasted until 1896 after being sold to JG Gumby, Jordan, William H Palmer, RA Lancaster and George Sherman. It became the Georgia Midland Railroad.

Under a state charter in March 1896, Southern Railway Co, founded in July 1895, bought the firm in July 1896. JP Morgan owned the Southern Railway Co with branches throughout the South, although the north controlled the South financially, Southerners ran the show's southern railway companies first president was Columbus's Samuel spent. In his 12 years as President, the line grew in length and revenue. Spencer was a key player in the New South until he died in 1906.

Spencer was among seven murdered when 2 passenger trains collided on his line. This new railroad development phase saw the central of Georgia expand 3 lines. The Southern Railway system and Seaboard airline commenced service in Columbus. Railroad lines and vehicles delivering products to and from the city were rapidly crisscross. Doing it, the Seaboard Airline Railway leased Columbus railroad companies Front Ave. freight line in 1902.

The latter firm ran City Street cars and sold electricity. It had little railroad freight activity. The factories, cotton warehouses and other commercial activities along Front Ave. wanted seaboard. To buy those rails to compete with Columbus's main carrier, the central of Georgia Rail. Road Seaboard's depot was erected in 1902 in the 1000 block of Front Ave. The two-story Brick Station 48 by 65 feet atop a slope sloping westward, had the upper floor at St. level on the eastern side. Its most notable feature was a sequence of arches on its southern and east and upper level, and southern and western basement sides.

Trestle supported tracks bordered the top stories West side. Buildings had various wooden components. The roof had wooden trusses and all the archway doorways and top end Western Wall were wood. A elevated wooden platform on the second story carried items from and to the train wagons. The structure was a freight terminal until 1971.

From its main yard east of 6th Ave. Seaboard airline served front and Bay Avenues by 1900, the South had almost finished its rail network, which had improved service scheduling and economics. Local control was almost entirely replaced by northern financial influence. The 1880s and 1890s saw numerous tiny local lines go bankrupt. Thus, this was a natural continuation. November 22nd, 1915 saw one of our communities most notable train crashes.

The Convention T Kennedy Circus ended its 1915 season 4 days before Thanksgiving. After setting attendance and revenue records at the Atlanta Exposition downtown, they headed to Girard, Alabama over a recently opened bridge from Columbus. The train and its artists were 6 miles from town and the tracks might be clear. The central of Georgia passenger train from Columbus to Macon was intended to pause at Muskogee Junction. Only commands were disregarded.

The central of Georgia train veered onto the main rails and hit the circus. Train head on at Bull Creek. At 1:26 PM, nine minutes before the normal train left, they collided at 30 to 35 mph. The metal and wood circus train was filled with greasy tents that fueled furnace hot flames. 24 circus performers perished, an overcrowded City Hospital. Has almost 50 survivors. When the engines merged, they stayed on course. No one died on the central of Georgia train, which had stronger cars not aboard the circus train.

The flames spurred the back cars with wild animals. Between 9 automobiles were devoured in just two hours. Young hunters fled town after hearing an enraged circus bear was free, but its fate was never recorded. A group of monkeys stayed still when colourful birds flew away. The terrified and panicked jumped into trees along the train bed. Circus workers fired the monkeys out of the trees to hinder rescue operations. The Gerard performance was cancelled, leaving circus performers without lodging or food. Columbus residents rallied behind them and women's club members cooked them

Thanksgiving dinner on the first floor of the Murrah Building on 1st Ave. Doctor Luther R Christie, pastor of First Baptist Church from 1909 to 1917, led a funeral cortege down 12th St. on Thanksgiving morning and presided over a city first ceremony. Behind him were Professor Eslick's band members playing borrowed instruments. They played a mournful. Rock of Ages as they crept to the church, Christie lectured on God's omnipotence and his refuge in the darkest hours to a packed house.

The Conte Kennedy show travelled to Albany, GA, and Jacksonville, FL to end their season. The day after the services. The tight knit circus community contributed equipment and performances for the remaining days. Riverdale Cemetery subsequently constructed a circus tent headstone to honour the disaster. On January 1st, 1918, the USRA took over the country's main railroads while the nation was fighting World War One. The USRA leased all lines of any size or strategic significance, including the central of Georgia, to improve railroad cooperation for the war effort.

The nationalization experiment had mixed success. Although USRA controlled lines transported 8,714,582 soldiers before being transferred to private operations on February 29th, 1920, many more. Companies were founded during this time of rapid expansion after World War One. The city's railroad lines were also required to contribute to growth and profit from increased freight. Georgia's central, southern, and Seaboard highways upgrade.

The central of Georgia Railway erected a new coal chute round house freight yards, underpasses and other structures. The 1901 Richardsonian Romanesque Union depot was also renovated. The central of Georgia's most significant building was the 1925 13th St. Viaduct Georgio's longest at 1888 feet and 50 feet. Wide from 5th to 10th avenues along 13th St. it cost approximately half $1,000,000 to build with the city and Southern Railroad, whose lines are impacted contributing. The citys expansion also saw the completion of the 11th St. underpass and the 1st Ave. underpass between 16th and 17th Streets. Railroads opened up previously unconnected sections of the country's railroads, like steamboats and stagecoaches lost their utility as passenger transport, as automobiles and truck lines and air travel advanced railroad freight activities also dropped from 1920 to 1957.

Rail passenger volume fell from 1.27 billion to 413 million. The first Georgia streamliner, the man of war, was introduced by the Central of Georgia Railway in 1947 to run 2 round trips a day between Columbus and Atlanta. The General Motors E7 locomotive towed 4 Bud, built Cars, 2 coaches, a baggage coach and a Tavern observation car. With 152 revenue seats and 56 non revenue. Seats. Many Colombians recall Manor war rides. It transported CEO's on business trips, ladies shopping, families on vacation and school children. The central of Georgia separated coaches, confining African Americans to the Manor war luggage coach in accordance with Jim Crow regulation. Blacks couldn't even visit diner lounges.

Most railroads didn't like the additional expenses these regulations imposed, but the central of Georgia refused to desegregate even after Congress approved anti segregation legislation stating federal laws didn't apply to its passenger. Trains since they didn't cross state boundaries, separate passenger waiting rooms were also at Columbus's Union Depot. By the late 1950s and early 1960s, Columbus passenger train traffic followed the national trend. Fewer daily runs into the city until the big passenger trains disappeared 1 by 1. Ironically, fewer runs drove the public to rely even more on the other modes of transportation that had replaced passenger trains, worsening the railroad's financial.

Problems despite opposition from the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, the Man of War, the city's most famous passenger train was forced to cut daily runs to Atlanta and close its lounge car to recover losses. Southern Railway purchased the Central of Georgia in 1963 and it is now part of Norfolk Southern. Finally, economics killed the train about 1969. It was discontinued. The Seminole, another daily passenger train from Columbus to Jacksonville, FL, ended in July 1968. On April 31st, 1971, the City of Miami, en route to Chicago, passed through Columbus, ending rail passenger service to and from the city.

For 119 years, passenger trains had served the city frequently prospering, so their death was like a sorrowful conclusion to a once happy affair, according to a newspaper. Although passenger trains no longer travel through Columbus, Freight service continues, railroad lines still traverse the city. To offset private railroads, rising passenger train losses, the federal government created Amtrak as a quasi public company in 1971.

20 of the 26 Inter city passenger railroads in 1971 gave them to Amtrak, Southern Railway and others followed later in the decade. Amtrak operates over 300 trains daily over 21,400 miles of track to over 500 locations in 46 States and three Canadian provinces. Amtrak owns 623 miles and operates 132 trains, may reach 150 mph. On certain tracks. In fiscal year 2018, Amtrak had 31.7 million passengers $3.4 billion in revenue and over 20,000 employees.